Bernard Pierce had rotator cuff surgery on Wednesday

Posted by Josh Alper on January 30, 2014, 7:07 AM EST

AP

The Ravens have overhauled their offensive coaching staff over the last few days and the shakeup leaves some uncertainty about what things will look like on that side of the ball once the Ravens get back on the field.

It’s not the only question mark, however. There’s also how well players will heal after surgeries like the one running back Bernard Pierce had on Wednesday.

Pierce’s agent said, via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, that Pierce had rotator cuff surgery on Philadelphia to repair an injury that bothered him throughout the season. Pierce consulted multiple doctors after the end of the season before deciding to have the surgery, which requires four to five months of rehabilitation.

Pierce is expected to make a full recovery, but that timeframe will likely keep him out of the team’s offseason workouts and will give other running backs a chance to make an impression on offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak as he puts his offense into place. That system has been very kind to running backs in the past and Pierce will have a lot of work to do in training camp to put himself in position to benefit from it.

Ray Rice is also coming off of hip and thigh injuries and it seems to me that the coaching staff was delicately dancing around a suggestion that he came into camp out of shape…so we’re going to have to see how good Ray Rice looks when camp starts.

If Pierce is healthy again, he should good to go. That Steelers fan saying he won’t be noticed on the field is full of garbage. The guy runs with speed and power and makes tacklers pay. He is a perfect compliment to the shiftier style of Ray Rice.

That being said, the Ravens should invest some money in bringing in a good 3rd option. They’ve been able to get away with carrying essentially two running backs the last couple of seasons and that clearly hurt them this year. They had no go to option. With Leach seemingly done and their preference to go single back, maybe that roster spot goes to a good third option instead of a pricey FB?